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The Pilots celebrate a string of great plays against Washington State in Las Vegas.

Women's Basketball

Pilots Take on Beavers in Quarterfinals of WCC Tournament

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- It's onward to the quarterfinals for the Portland Pilots Women's Basketball, with the Pilots set to take on the 4-seed Oregon State Beavers. The two teams play on Sunday, March 8 at 11:30 a.m. here at the Orleans Arena.

The game will be broadcasst on ESPN+, with an audio stream available on PortlandPilots.com. Check PortlandPilots.com for video, audio and live stats options.

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: Oregon State Beavers
Day: Sunday
Date: Mar. 8, 2026
Time: 11:30 AM
Place: Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena: Orleans Arena
TV: ESPN+
Audio: PortlandPilots.com
Stats: PortlandPilots.com
 
POR vs. OSU
Overall: 6-24 •  Last 5/10: 2-3/3-7
H: 4-8 •  A: 2-15 • N: 0-1
Last: POR 54, @OSU 64 (2/17/2026)
 
PILOTS AT THE TOURNEY
All-Time: 26-30
 
Best Finish: Champions in 1994, 2020, 2023 and 2024
 
2025 WCC Tournament Results:
W, POR 72, WSU 57 (Semifinals)
L, POR 46, OSU 59 (Championship

TOURNEY TIME FOR THE PILOTS
• The 2026 Credit Union 1 West Coast Conference Women's Basketball Championships is upon us, a tournament that the Pilots have achieved great success in under head coach Michael Meek.
• In 2020, Meek's first season, he led the Pilots to their first WCC Tournament championship since 1994 and just their second in program history. Alex Fowler was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player that season.
• That season, Haylee Andrews hit game-winning shots late against both the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the semifinals and the San Diego Toreros in the final to propel the Pilots to a win.
• In 2023 and 2024, the Pilots did it again, beating Gonzaga both times in the final on their way to victory. They were the first back-to-back champs not named Gonzaga to repeat since Pepperdine in 2003.
• With their win in 2023, the Pilots earned the chance to compete in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1997. The Pilots were unable to compete in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Overall, the Pilots are 26-30 as a program with four tournament titles. They are 11-3 in the tournament under Meek.
 
LAST TIME OUT
• The Pilots dismantled the Washington State Cougars 72-62 in the third round of the tournament, advancing to the quarterfinals. It's the sixth time the Pilots have earned at least one win in the tournament under Meek.
• Portland was buoyed by a 15-2 run in the third quarter, forcing 10 turnovers with six steals on their way to a win.
• Rhyan Mogel was one point shy of her career high, scoring 19 points. She scored her career high the last time the Pilots play Washington State on Feb. 12.
• Lainey Spear added 16 points herself to round out the double-digit scorers.
• Dyani Ananiev was a huge part of the defensive performance, adding three steals and three blocks to lead the Pilots in both categories. She had eight points as well.
• Ananiev's 72 steals this year makes her one of just 22 Pilots to have reached at least 70 steals in a single year.
• Florence Dallow and Nicole Anderson added nine and eight points themselves.
• Anderson's two 3-pointers put her at 58 on the year. That's the eighth most ever by a Pilot in a single season and the most since Maddie Muhlheim in the 2019-20 season.
 
PEEK INTO THE PORT
• The Pilots lead the conference in blocks per game (5.5), turnovers forced per game (20.7) and steals per game (11.1) and ranks second in assists per game (16.9) and bench points per game (23.1).
• Nationally, Portland's 11th in blocks per game, 25th in turnovers forced per game, 30th in steals per game, 31st in assists per game and 50th in bench points per game.
• Julia Dalan was 11th in total blocks nationally entering yesterday's and is averaging 3.3 blocks per game, with both numbers leading the conference.
• Dalan's 69 blocks are the most ever by a Pilot true freshman, breaking the record previously held by Rosemary Adams in the 1990-91 season. It's the sixth most in a season ever by a Pilot.
• Ananiev currently leads the conference at 72 steals and 2.6 steals per game. Her 2.6 steals per contest ranks 48th nationally.
• Ananiev is the leading scorer for the Pilots at 10.9 points per game, followed closely behind by Dallow at 10.4 points per game.
• Spear has also racked up the takeaways this year at 1.9 steals per game. Spear had eight steals earlier this year against Seattle U on Jan. 17, the most by a Pilot since 2017.
• Spear was one steal shy of the program record for steals in a game. The last player to reach nine steals in a game was her mother, Kristin, who played with the Pilots from 1996-99 and reached nine steals in a game in 1997.
• Anderson makes nearly two 3-pointers a contest off the bench primarily, averaging 1.9 per game to rank eighth in the WCC.
• Anderson averaged 9.4 points per game in conference play alone and shot 38.4% from 3-point range. Her 58 3-pointers are the most by a Pilot in a single season since Maddie Muhlheim in the 2019-20 season (60) and the eighth most in program history.
• Mogel ranks fourth in the WCC in both total assists (134) and assists per game (4.6) while also ranking third in assist/turnover ratio at 1.76.
• Mogel was the fastest Pilot to 100 assists in a season since Haylee Andrews in the 2021-22 season.
 
AWARDS SEASON
• The Pilots had four different players rack up postseason honors at the conclusion of the 2025-26 regular season.
• For the year All-West Coast Conference honors, Ananiev made the All-WCC Second Team, Dallow earned honorable mention and Dalan made the freshman team.
• Ananiev earns All-WCC honors for the second time in her career, while Dallow and Dalan do so for the first times.
• Anderson followed that up by earned WCC All-Academic First Team honors for her performance on the court and in the classroom.
• Along with Anderson, Ananiev, Tiffany Barbosa, Dallow, Mogel, Spear and Zimmerman all earned WCC All-Academic Honorable Mention.
 
A LOOK BACK AT HISTORY
• The Pilots had a historic season in 2024-25, finishing 31-5 overall and 17-3 in WCC play to win a share of the 2024-25 WCC Regular Season Title. It's their fourth title, either tournament or regular season, in six seasons.
• Their 31 wins were a program record and their 17 wins in WCC play were also a new high for the program.
• Last year, they made the WCC Championships final for the fourth time under head coach Michael Meek and also qualified for the WBIT for the first time in program history.
• In the WBIT, they beat the Stanford Cardinal and the Seton Hall Pirates on the road to advance to the quarterfinals before falling to Villanova Wildcats in that round. The wins were the first ever road playoff wins for the Pilots, the first win ever over Stanford and the first ever over a Big East squad.
• Portland led the way in numerous statistical categories last season, leading the conference in points per game (75.7), scoring margin (12.4), steals per game (10.3), turnover margin (4.56), free throws made (16.44), free throw percentage (16.44), free throw attempts (21.08), assists per game (17.3) and assists-to-turnover ratio (1.16).
• Nationally, they were fifth in free throws made per game, 16th in free throw percentage, 21st in assists per game and free throw attempts, 34th in assist-to-turnover ratio and steals per game and 35th in points per game and turnovers forced per game (19.47).
•The Pilots set numerous program records at the Division I level, with the most points (2,726), points per game (75.7), field goals made (946), free throws made (592), free throw percentage (.780), rebounds (1,288), defensive rebounds (844), offensive rebounds (444) and assists (620). 
 
MEEK AT THE HELM
• Michael Meek is in his seventh season as head coach of the Portland Pilots.
• Meek has been dominant through six seasons, winning WCC Tournament titles in 2020, 2023 and 2024 and the regular season title in the 2024-25 season.
• Meek has won at least 20 games in five of his six full seasons as head coach of the Pilots, including a program record 31 wins overall and 17 WCC wins in the 2024-25 seasons.
• Meek is 377-110 in his career dating back to his time at George Fox. He is 146-74 in his time with Portland.
• Meek ranks ninth among all active coaches in NCAA Division I with at least five seasons of experience in winning percentage at .775
 
ABOUT THE BEAVERS
• The Oregon State Beavers are 21-10 overall and finished 13-5 in WCC play to take fourth in the conference.
• The Pilots split the regular season contests with the Beavers, beating Oregon State at home 53-50 but losing in Corvallis 64-54.
• The Beavers won the WCC Tournament final over the Pilots last season, finishing the year 19-16 overall and 12-8 in WCC play. They lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last year to the North Carolina Tar Heels.
• The Beavers were picked as the preseason favorite to win it all this season in the annual WCC Preseason Coaches Poll, with Tiara Bolden, Catarina Ferreira and Kennedie Shuler all making the preseason team.
• Shuler, along with Jenna Villa, earned All-WCC First Team honors at the end of this season. Shuler was also named the conference's Defensive Player of the Year.
• Shuler averaged 13.1 points per game along with 2.1 steals and 0.9 blocks while Villa averaged a team-high 14.8 points. Bolden, an All-WCC Second Team pick, scored 13.3 points per contest for the Beavers.
• Scott Rueck is in his 16th year with the Beavers, having posted a 337-180 record in that time span. He's made the NCAA Tournament nine times with the Beavers, including three Elite Eight appearances and a Final Four appearance in 2016.
• Rueck coached the George Fox Bruins prior to joining the Beavers. Rueck was succeeded by Pilots head coach Michael Meek, who led the Bruins from the 2010-11 season through the 2018-19 season.
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